People think of this when it comes to someone being diagnosed with a terminal illness. The scene of Walter White being diagnosed with lung cancer in Breaking Bad is a good example of the opening denial stage:

But these stages apply to any sort of awful event in people's lives; from losing a job to going through foreclosure to a death of family member to a divorce to a simple breakup. Indeed, have seen various stages of this plenty when talking to people going through foreclosure. Some get angry at me even though I'm just there to possibly make an offer on their home. Some are in complete denial. Some have accepted it and just wanted to get it over with and sell the property.

Hell, I myself recently went through a breakup and have experienced each of these stages to one degree or another.

The steps don't necessarily come in order and you can go back and forth between different stages. But it's important to know for two reasons. First of all, if you are dealing with someone going through this process for whatever reason, it's important to recognize what stage they're in. If you don't, their behavior may seem completely irrational and your response might be inappropriate.

On the other hand, we will all go through tough events in our lives and it's important to know that you're going to go through these stages no matter how tough you are. But knowing this is quite liberating. Because by knowing it, you know that it's just a stage. It will get better and you will feel better. Unfortunately, you have to go through these stages and the process isn't any fun. But knowing it gets better and understanding which stage your at can make the process a whole lot better.